A Family Likeness
by Nishh
Summary: My kind don't usually breed! It will be like me, I am convinced of it...how can I forgive myself, when I knowingly risked passing on my own condition to an innocent child...


The sky outside was a dark grey; very little light illuminated the kitchen in which Harry and the elderly witch were sitting.

'I'll put the kettle on, shall I?' he asked, to which she replied with a warm smile. Filling the kettle and hanging it over the fireplace, he turned round to face her.

'Harry, dear, my visit today wasn't only for the pleasure of seeing you two and that gorgeous little boy of yours, I have small favour to ask…' she began, still smiling, 'I'd be awfully grateful if you could have little Teddy to stay with you for a week or so. An old friend of mine has asked me to go and stay with her in her new holiday house on the French coast – quite the latest fashion, I hear – and I'd so much like to go and see her, I haven't had a chance to visit since before that awful business a few years back…'

She drifted off again, and Harry knew why. Andromeda had lost her husband and her only child to Voldemort's followers. He poured the tea and silently handed her a cup, which she accepted gratefully.

'Don't worry about it, we'd love to have Teddy over...he's like a son to us; at least, we like to think of him that way.' said Harry, grinning. 'Ginny wants to turn the study upstairs into a room for him, so he can have somewhere of his own to sleep when he comes round.'

Andromeda reached for his hand across the table, and squeezed it. 'Oh, he'd absolutely love that. He's sleeping in Dora's old room at present, and I haven't the heart to change it too much, although he's been badgering me for Quidditch posters and the like…he's very interested in learning more about his parents, too; he's terribly proud of them, for fighting against Voldemort.'

She sipped her tea, and through the window Harry saw his wife open the front gate and let herself in. A moment later she reappeared in the hallway, with Teddy alongside her and a chubby, red-haired baby under one arm.

'It really has got a lot colder these past few days, I'm frozen!' Ginny said, and bent forward to kiss Andromeda on the cheek. 'Come here, Teddy, I'll get you some toast and some hot milk to warm you up…'

The baby was passed to Andromeda, who sat him on her lap and kissed the top of his head, and pulled out the chair next to her for Teddy to sit down. Ginny had taken him for a walk around the park to feed the ducks. His cheeks glowed, and occasionally his hair colour, which was naturally mouse-coloured, went a little lighter, before reverting back to normal. They had been trying to get him to control his ability so he could blend in reasonably well when out in public, and not draw too much unwanted attention from nearby Muggles.

'It's so kind of you to spoil him like you do.' said Andromeda, rising from her chair and handing the baby to his father, who held him close. 'I'll have his things all packed up at home, if you'd like to go and fetch them tomorrow. I really must be getting off soon; I was hoping to arrive by the morning…'

She bade goodbye to them all and, fastening her winter cloak, stepped out into the chilly autumn air, waving at Teddy through the window, who waved back. As she vanished from sight, he helped himself the jam on toast Ginny had made for him. Looking at them all, Harry felt a surge of immeasurable affection for his little family, and stroked his wife's arm as she handed the warm milk to the little boy.

'Careful, darling, you should blow on it first to make sure it's not too hot.' she warned, and turned to kiss her husband tenderly on the cheek. Harry found himself staring into his baby son's eyes, which were light brown, like his mother's. James looked up at him almost pleadingly, and let out a small whining sound.

'I bet you're tired, aren't you? Has he been fed?' he asked Ginny, who shook her head.

'Give him to me, I reckon I could sort something out.' was her reply, and Harry laughed. Teddy had stopped blowing on his drink and sipped it tentatively.

'Can I go on your broomstick with you again?' Teddy asked him, looking hopeful. Harry shook his head.

'It's far too dark now. I might let you tomorrow morning, if you behave yourself.' He replied, ruffling the child's hair. Grinning, Teddy drank the rest of his milk and raced into the sitting room to fiddle with the radio: there was a children's broadcast on Friday evenings at seven. Having eventually found the right station, Harry watched him take a small toy out of his trouser pocket: a miniature dragon, which was obviously wizard-made by the fact that it was enchanted to move like the real thing. It curled up in his hand and issued tiny puffs of smoke from its nostrils. A friendly woman's voice rose from the old radio as Teddy twisted the volume knob: she was telling children's stories.

Ginny soon reappeared with a sleepy James over her shoulder, rocking slightly.

'I think he'll nod off soon, he didn't get much sleep over lunch. What've you got there, Teddy?' she asked in a bright manner, reaching out for the little dragon. Teddy extended his arm to give it to her, but oddly, it fell from his grasp and landed with a quiet thud on the carpet.

'Teddy? Are you all right, sweetie?' Ginny asked immediately, her voice troubled. Teddy looked down at the carpet, motionless. Then, all of a sudden, he cried out and lunged at her, trying to bite her. In a swift motion, Harry stepped between them to prevent him hurting her, and took hold of his wrists, holding him steady. Ginny edged away, and reached out an arm to him, which soon fell by her side. She was breathing heavily; there were tears in her eyes.

'Oh my God! Oh my god…what's wrong with him?' she half wailed, her hand over her mouth. 'Careful, Harry, don't hurt him…is he having a fit?'

Teddy's screaming got louder and became heart-wrenching, repeating keens, like a frightened animal. He clawed at thin air, and twisted his body in a deranged, sickening way in order to be free of Harry's grasp, snarling and gnashing his teeth. He went for Harry again, who had no choice but to hold him down on the floor, facing Ginny. He struggled, saliva frothing from his mouth. He paused for a second, and then started making a smacking noise with his mouth. It took Harry a moment to realise that he was biting his own tongue.

'Oh God. No, Teddy, stop it. Stop! _STOP!_' he bellowed, his body shaking with fear as the blood began to trickle in alarming quantities down his chin and leave dark, grisly stains on his t-shirt and the floor around him.

'_Episkey!_ Ginny, fetch someone from St. Mungos, I think he's having a fit – _Episkey!_' he cried, as the little boy began tearing the wounds afresh. He whispered to him, rubbing his back gently in rhythmic circles, anything to get him to calm down, to stop…

It began to work. His breathing, which had been shallow and rapid, began to slow, his struggles became weaker. The screaming stopped also, but Teddy shuddered at random intervals, kicking out a little with his legs. In the brief calm, Harry looked around and saw, to his horror, that the moon was full, glinting through the gap in the curtains. Ginny stood stock still, her hand over her mouth, trying to stifle her choking sobs. Her baby, frightened by the noises and his parent's terrified expressions, began to cry. He looked around hopefully, wanting his daddy would jump up and smile at him, and rock him to sleep.

'Ginny, it's the full moon. We need Healers, he needs looking after. _Please_, love, don't be afraid, I'll look after him, just hurry!' Harry pleaded, and Ginny turned away from them and vanished, tears still rolling down her cheeks.

Seeing her turn away, Teddy began to scream again, but it was different this time: he reached towards the spot where Ginny had been and wailed, trying to toss from side to side. He craned his neck back to look at Harry, his eyes red and shiny with tears. His hair began to darken, but to Harry's immense relief, he was reassuringly human. He loosened his grip on him a little, stroking the back of his little hand, with his perfect little fingernails. Unable to stop himself anymore, Harry began to cry too, pulling the boy close to his chest and rocking backwards and forwards. The shudders were still racking his body, just as violent as ever, but the rage had gone; Harry knew he thought Ginny had abandoned him.

_He's not really a werewolf_, Harry thought, _he's a frightened little boy_. He kissed the child's head, and buried his face in it, hoping Ginny would return soon.

Within a couple of minutes, she reappeared with several Healers alongside her. One of them, Harry realised, was carrying a straightjacket and other things used to restrain him.

'Don't, he's calmed down now. Please, he doesn't need those.' Harry said immediately, wiping his eyes and nodding at them. The Healers looked severe – they obviously expected a fully-fledged werewolf to be in their midst, and were on their guard.

At the sight of these strange people, Teddy started screaming in earnest, but they lifted him from Harry's arms and secured him to a magical stretcher with almost unnatural speed. Before Harry had time to gather himself, Ginny had taken hold of his arm and they had vanished together, landing with a 'pop' in a private ward. Teddy began thrashing again, and the couple was told to wait nearby while the Healers tried to sort him out.

'Oh Harry, they're going to have to sedate him!' Ginny said, her voice quavering. Her face crumpled again, and Harry put his arm around her, letting her bury her face in his shoulder. The baby, who was still in Ginny's arms, was still crying a little, and Harry paced up and down with him, trying to get him to sleep.

Hours passed. One by one the Healers cleared away, and they were left alone with the little boy, who at last began to look peaceful, as the sleeping draught began to take effect. They had mended the bloody, red sores on his fingertips from clawing at the sitting-room carpet. Ginny sat on the edge of the bed, stroking his hair, which had changed back to light brown. A Healer re-entered, holding a clip-board upon which she was making notes.

'Is this the first time this has happened?' she asked, looking at Teddy with a pitying expression on her face.

'No, I don't think so.' Harry said quietly. 'His father was a werewolf, but nothing like this has happened before. His parents were killed fighting Voldemort; I'm his godfather, he stays with us from time to time. He lives with his grandmother, but she's on holiday -'

'Ah, I see. Poor little mite.' she replied, clicking her teeth. 'Did he transform at all? We noticed that his hair seems to have darkened, that could be a possible sign -'

'No.' Ginny interrupted, 'No, there was no transformation. He's a Metamorphmagus, his hair does that all the time. It goes darker when he gets frightened.'

'Right. Well, you certainly are an extraordinary little man, aren't you?' she said kindly, smiling a little. 'How old is he?'

'Six.' Replied Ginny, her eyes downcast. Without warning, she started to cry again.

'I wouldn't worry, Madam. There's a lot that can be done for werewolves these days, and he's only displaying the milder symptoms, at least. You'll be pleased to know that conditions like these don't usually get any worse, and with a little Wolfsbane potion every month, he should be right as rain.'

'Thank God.' said Harry, reassured that he would be all right. 'I had better contact his grandma, she'll want to know how he's doing…'

* * *

By the next evening, Teddy's symptoms had disappeared, and he was allowed to go home. Andromeda had returned immediately to see how he was. Teddy could barely remember the events, but he was unnaturally subdued as Harry took his hand and led him home.

'What's wrong, Ted?' Harry asked, looking down at him. Teddy shrugged.

'You said I couldn't go on your broomstick if I was bad.' he replied, looking at his feet. Harry had the feeling he knew how much upset the incident had caused.

'Nonsense, you've just been a bit ill, that's all. But as long as you take your medicine occasionally, the Healers said you're going to be fine. Come on, I'll buy you an ice cream for being so brave.' said Harry, grinning, as they passed a stall by the road.


End file.
